The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Dark Horse's Beasts of Burden series is heading to the big screen as a CGI-animated movie. Andrew Adamson, director of Shrek and The Chronicles of Narnia will produce alongside his Strange Weather Films partner Aron Warner and Dark Horse Entertainment's Mike Richardson.

The book is about a group of dogs and one cat who get together to protect their owners from a supernatural threat. Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) created the characters, which first appeared in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, Witchcraft, the Deadand Monsters, and earned the duo Eisner Awards for best short story and best painter.

I have not read these stories, but have heard great things about them, so I need to check this out.

Warren Beatty is at the Hero Complex Festival in LA for the HD screening of his movie, Dick Tracy. Afterwards, he announced that the movie will be released on Blu-Ray. He then said that he is in the process of doing a sequel. If you remember, he recently won a lawsuit against Tribune over the rights of the character. Here's his comments (from geek tyrant)...

“I’m gonna make another one.” (continued when pressed for information) “Ithink it’s dumb talking about movies before you make them. I just don’t do it. It gives you the perfect excuse to avoid making them." So what would you like to see in the sequel?

The Source has revealed seven more books today, and seems to confirm that the company is merging all of the other universe together. We saw the DC characters who moved over to Vertigo come back (Constantine, Swamp Thing, Shade), then we saw Static Shock return (Milestone Comics). Today, we see the inclusion of Wildstorm characters...

Stormwatch by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. Stormwatch is a dangerous super human strike force whose existence is kept secret from the world. Jack Hawksmoor and the rest of the crew look to recruit two of the deadliest super humans on the planet: Midnighter and Apollo. And if they say no? Perhaps the Martian Manhunter can change their minds.

Sgt. Rock and The Men of War by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick.The grandson of the original Sgt. Rock assumes the command of Easy Company, a team of crack ex-military men financed by a covert military contractor, as they brave the battle-scarred landscape carved by the DC Universe’s super-villains.

OMAC by Dan Didio and Kieth Giffen, art by Giffen and Scott KoblishA man loses control of his life as the omnipresent Brother Eye transforms him against his will into a powerful killing machine OMAC.

Deathstroke by Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett and Art ThibertA metahuman mercenary who made a living taking out the toughest targets, Deathstroke will reclaim his fearsome legacy by any means necessary.

Blackhawks by Mike Costa and Ken LashleyBlackhawk is an elite group of mercenaries made up of brave men from around the world equipped with the latest in cutting-edge hardware and vehicles. Their mission: Kill the bad guys before they kill us.

All-Star Western by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and MoritatEven when Gotham City was just a one-horse town, crime was rampant – and things only get worse when bounty hunter Jonah Hex comes to town. Can Amadeus Arkham, a pioneer in criminal psychology, enlist Hex’s special brand of justice to help the Gotham Police Department track down a vicious serial killer? Featuring back-up stories starring DC’s other western heroes.

GRIFTER by Nathan Edmondson and CAFU and BITEx-black ops agent Cole Cash is a charming grifter that few can resist. And yet he’s about to be branded a serial killer when he begins hunting and exterminating inhuman creatures hidden in human form – creatures only he can see. Can the biggest sweet talker of all time talk his way out of this one when even his brother thinks he’s gone over the edge?

I'm kinda impressed with this batch, how about you? OMAC's mohawk is way too funky, but that's Giffen for you.

The Source has revealed more books and teams that will be coming our way in September. The theme of this grouping is teen-oriented and will alleviate some concerns (including mine) regarding characters who have not been seen since the company started revealing the new vision...

Legion Lost by Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods. Seven heroes from the 31st century have traveled back to the present day. Their mission: Save their future from total annihilation. When the future tech they brought with them fails, they find themselves trapped in a nightmarish world and an ultimate struggle to survive.

Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz and Francis Portella. In the 31st century, the Legion of Superheroes is reeling from the loss of seven of their finest — and trying desperately to keep their youngest recruits alive against a series of terrible new threats.

Static Shock by John Rozum and Scott McDaniel, Scott also handling art with Jonathan Glapion. Virgil Hawkins has been gifted with incredible electrical powers. Adopting the persona of Static, he faces super-powered street gangs, raging hormones, homework, and girls.Teen Titans by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund. Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash.Hawk and Dove by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefield. It’s up to the living avatars of war and peace to root out the hidden forces who look to plunge the country into a deadly civil war.

Shia LaBeouf told MTV this weekend that a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise is not far off. "He [Harrison Ford] said he's staying in the gym, he said he's heard no word, but he does know that [George Lucas] is out there looking for a MacGuffin. He said he's staying in the gym, so it means [the movie is] not so far off." Harrison Ford has always been up to do more Indy films. He would do it in a New York second than do more Star Wars films.

OK, I watched Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls again a couple of months back for the first time in a LONG while. It was better than I remember. I know that it had a different feel compared to the previous three, but the movie acknowledge the time passage between Skulls and the previous movie, The Last Crusade, something that very few franchises do. The inclusion of Mutt (LaBeouf) was annoying, but I'm not sure that it was the character or my general dislike of the actor. If Harrison thinks he can go and they have a good script, I say go for it!!!

Apparently, Entertainment Weekly has been given the scoop about DC's foray into the supernatural. Here is the list of books that will be part of the relaunch in September....

Swamp Thing - you saw the cover on a previous update. The book will be written by Scott Snyder (current Detective Comics writer, will move over to Batman in the relaunch).

Animal Man - First off, great to see him back. Second, he will be written by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth). I don't remember reading his work, but I've heard good things about it.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE - OK, not sure what to make of this. This book is also written by Lemire. Apparently, the government is putting together an organization called TheSuper Human Advanced Defense Executive with Frank and other monsters being agents. Hmmm...

Demon Knights - Super heroes in medieval times written by Paul Cornell (Knight and Squire mini series, the Lex Luthor Action Comics run). Interesting, and I like Cornell's writing.

And finally...

Justice League Dark - A supernatural version of the group. Written by Peter Milligan, the group will consist of: Deadman, John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, and Shade the Changing Man. This may get on my pull list.

Since most of these are Vertigo characters, I wonder what happens to the Vertigo line. Will DC shut it down? Or let it go on its merry way? Stay tuned my friends...

Bleeding Cool has unveiled more covers to the September reboot by DC comics. Here's what we have...

Swamp Thing #1 cover by Yanick Paquette

Detective Comics # 1 cover by Tony Daniel

Catwoman #1 cover by Guillem March

Batwoman #1 cover by JH Williams III.The series will be drawn by him and co-written with W Haden Blackman.

Batman # 1 by Greg Capullo.Capullo will handle the interior art as well.

Nightwing #1 cover by Eddy Barrows.There has been a lot of discussion regarding this book and character. This cover only helps fuel it. Is it Dick Grayson? Is it Tim Drake? Or is it Jason Todd? We'll see...

J.J. Abrams has confirmed that his next project will be the sequel to Star Trek. He has also confirmed that the movie WILL NOT be in 3D. Paramount has slated that the movie will be released at the end of next June (the 29th to be precise), but Abrams says he will not rush to get it out. “I care much more that it be good than it be ready. I’m, obviously doing everything I can to make sure that schedules don’t get screwed up. But I don’t think anyone wants a movie on time that’s not worth your time.” You can read more of his comments at Cinema Blend.

I grew up watching the repeats of the original series and became a big fan. While there were some things I kinda questioned about the movie, I enjoyed it overall. I am looking forward to the sequel and see how the Enterprise crew becomes more of a family and witness their new adventures.

From executive producers Steven Spielberg, Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga, René Echevarria and Aaron Kaplan comes an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making.

TERRA NOVA follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in doubt, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past.

When scientists at the FERMI Particle Accelerator unexpectedly discovered a fracture in time that made it possible to construct a portal into primeval history, the bold notion was born to resettle humanity in the past – a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time.

The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first colony established in this beautiful yet forbidding land. JIM SHANNON (Jason O’Mara), a devoted father with a checkered past, guides his family through this new world of limitless beauty, mystery and terror. Jim’s wife, ELISABETH SHANNON (Shelley Conn), is a trauma surgeon and the newest addition to TERRA NOVA’s medical team. JOSH SHANNON (Landon Liboiron) is their 17-year-old son who is angry to leave life as he knows it behind; upon arriving at the settlement, he finds himself instantly drawn to the beautiful and rule-breaking SKYE (Allison Miller). MADDY SHANNON (Naomi Scott), Josh’s endearingly awkward 15-year-old sister, hopes TERRA NOVA will give her a new chance to reinvent herself. Although Elisabeth’s medical training secured the family a spot on the pilgrimage, a secret involving their five-year-old daughter, ZOE (Alana Mansour), soon endangers their place in this utopia.

Upon the Shannon’s arrival, they are introduced to COMMANDER NATHANIEL TAYLOR (Stephen Lang), the charismatic and heroic first pioneer and leader of the settlement. Taylor, along with his right-hand man, GUZMAN (Mido Hamada), warn the travelers that while Terra Nova is a place of new opportunities and fresh beginnings, all is not as idyllic as it initially appears. Along with blue skies, towering waterfalls and lush vegetation, the surrounding terrain is teeming with danger – and not just of the man-eating dinosaur variety. There is also a splinter colony of renegades led by the battle-hardened MIRA (Christine Adams), who is vehemently opposed to Taylor and his leadership.

Even more threatening than what lies outside the protective walls of the colony is the chilling possibility that something sinister is happening inside Terra Nova. The Shannons will come to suspect that not everyone on this mission has the same idea of how to best save mankind; in fact, there may be forces intent on destroying this new world before it even begins.

Found this over on Geek Tyrant and this is cool! It's a fan made anime short of the third Doctor. It has him battling the Master (or Masters???), the Cybermen, and the Daleks.Paul Johnson, who created the short, even went back to use lines of dialogue from Jon Pertwee (the Doctor), Nicholas Courtney (the Brigadier) and Anthony Ainley and Roger Delgado (the Master). This is very well done and wouldn't mind a series of these. Watch this and tell me what you think...

Green Lantern: The New Guardians (Kyle Rayner leading a team of the other colored lanterns) - Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham and Batt

Red Lanterns - Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter

Interesting....the GL teams don't change ALL that much. The New Guardians book could be cool. I've always thought that Kyle would become a Blue Lantern and he did in "War of the Green Lanterns." Will he stay a Green Lantern in the new DC?

Official Press Release Valiant Entertainment, the character-based entertainment company with more than 1,500 characters in its library, announced it will reintroduce the critically acclaimed Valiant Universe in print and digital comics in 2012. Valiant has hired accomplished industry executives and creative talent to expand its management team. The first announcement is that former Marvel CEO and Vice Chairman Peter Cuneo has assumed the role of Chairman of Valiant.

Valiant Entertainment, co-founded by Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasani, has received a capital infusion from private investment company Cuneo & Company, LLC. Peter Cuneo, Managing Principal of Cuneo & Co., recently concluded ten years of leadership at Marvel Entertainment, which achieved one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in entertainment history during that period. His tenure with Marvel concluded with Marvel’s sale at the end of 2009 to The Walt Disney Company for over $4 billion. Gavin Cuneo, Principal of Cuneo & Co., was an investment banker with Bank of America Merrill Lynch prior to the founding of Cuneo & Co. He has spent over ten years working in investment banking and investment management and has been appointed to Valiant’s Board of Directors. Peter and Gavin Cuneo are working closely with Valiant’s expanded management team to usher in the new era of Valiant.

“I am excited to be partnering with Peter and Gavin,” said CEO Jason Kothari. “Peter’s decade of leadership at Marvel, Gavin’s decade of experience on Wall Street, and their highly active roles with Valiant will be integral to our expansion.”

“The strength of the management team which Jason has created and the quality of the characters owned and controlled by the company have made this an extremely attractive and exciting investment,” said Peter Cuneo.

“We see a great opportunity in today’s comic book industry for the emergence of a brand that combines the power of a strong legacy with a first-class creative and business team,” said Gavin Cuneo.

Originally founded in 1989, Valiant Comics quickly became one of the most successful comic book publishers by creating unique and compelling heroes and villains and focusing on storytelling. Valiant characters have been written and illustrated by many of the industry’s most famous creative talents, including Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor Smith, Joe Quesada, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Steve Ditko, Mike Mignola and Neal Adams, among many others. Previously named Publisher of the Year by Diamond Comics Distributors, Valiant characters have sold over 80 million comic books. After creating some of the most popular comic book characters, Valiant was acquired by video game company Acclaim Entertainment. Acclaim used the characters as the basis for a number of successful video game franchises. Acclaim went out of business in 2005 due to issues unrelated to Valiant, including the loss of key sports video game licenses. This enabled Valiant Entertainment to acquire all the rights to the Valiant Comics library at the end of 2007. Valiant Entertainment began operations in 2008 and has made significant progress in the licensing and development of major motion pictures that will be communicated in the coming months. Valiant now expands into publishing.

“We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time and I’m excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012,” said Director Dinesh Shamdasani. “Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenants of the original Valiant and are the core tenants of the new Valiant.”

“Valiant owns and controls a universe of some of the most recognizable characters in the comic world,” added Peter Cuneo. “To this day, despite interruptions in its history, Valiant has retained an extremely passionate fan base. We are keenly focused on bringing the original Valiant Universe back for these fans as well as introducing these powerful characters and stories to new readers.”

About Valiant Entertainment
Valiant Entertainment is a character-based entertainment company that owns and controls some of the most cherished comic characters ever created across all media, including film, television, video games, new media, publishing, and consumer products. Since their creation in 1989, Valiant characters have sold 80 million comic books and have been the basis of a number of successful video game franchises. Valiant’s extensive library includes over 1,500 characters, such as X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, and Ninjak. Visit www.ValiantEntertainment.com.

According to Comic Book Resoruces, this letter went out to all retailers...

To our comics retail partners,In the time I've worked at DC Comics, I've witnessed any number of industry defining moments. But today, I bring you what is perhaps the biggest news to date.

Many of you have heard rumors that DC Comics has been working on a big publishing initiative for later this year. This is indeed an historic time for us as, come this September, we are relaunching the entire DC Universe line of comic books with all new first issues. 52 of them to be exact.

In addition, the new #1s will introduce readers to a more modern, diverse DC Universe, with some character variations in appearance, origin and age. All stories will be grounded in each character's legend - but will relate to real world situations, interactions, tragedy and triumph.

This epic event will kick off on Wednesday, August 31st with the debut of a brand new JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, which pairs Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, together for the first time. (Yes, this is the same week as FLASHPOINT #5.)

We think our current fans will be excited by this evolution, and that it will make jumping into the story extremely accessible to first-time readers - giving them a chance to discover DC's characters and stories.

We are positioning ourselves to tell the most innovative stories with our characters to allow fans to see them from a new angle. We have taken great care in maintaining continuity where most important, but fans will see a new approach to our storytelling.

Some of the characters will have new origins, while others will undergo minor changes. Our characters are always being updated; however, this is the first time all of our characters will be presented in a new way all at once.

Dan DiDio, Bob Harras and Eddie Berganza have been working diligently to pull together some of the best creative teams in the industry. Over 50 new costumes will debut in September, many updated and designed by artist Jim Lee, ensuring that the updated images appeal to the current generation of readers.

The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 will also launch digital day-and-date for all ongoing superhero comic book titles - an industry first.

On Wednesday, June 1st, this initiative is expected to be announced in a nationwide feature article, and we're hopeful the news will be picked up by media outlets around the world. Throughout the month we'll reveal more details of our plans with articles in both the mainstream and comics press and on June 13th the Diamond catalog solicitations for all of the September titles will be released, followed by the June 29th street date of the print version of Previews.

DC Comics will support this initiative with an innovative mix of publicity, promotional efforts and retailer incentives designed to maximize your opportunity to increase your DC sales. We will discuss additional details of these incentives when we get closer to solicitation later in June.

We'll be updating you more through email as September nears. But today, I hope your share our enthusiasm for this historic news!

Bleeding cool is reporting that Barbara Gordon will be behind the cowl when Batgirl #1 comes out in September. This will mark the first time (other than untold stories) that we'll see her in the outfit since being shot and paralyzed by the Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke back in 1988. Fans have been on both sides on whether or not Barbara should be un-crippled and no longer Oracle. The site also said that there will be a Nightwing series as well, but had no knowledge if it was Dick Grayson in the suit again.

Bleeding Cool also reported that there is an editorial edict that women's outfits should be "more practical." That explains why Wonder Woman is still wearing the outfit given to her last year. So expect Supergirl, Powergirl, Starfire, and some of the others to wear something...different.

According to Bleeding Cool the announcement that will take place at the Hero Complex Film Festival on June 11th (as reported here) is that they will be the creative team for the new Justice League book. Shouldn't be a surprise - Johns has been wanting to do a book with the founding members for a while, and thanks to Brightest Day and Flash Rebirth (both written or co-written by Johns, what a coincidence), the founding members are alive and kicking to be reunited for the first time in thirty years! This comes shortly after the site reported that all the DC Comics published set within the DC Universe proper will be renumbered starting back at #1 after the end of the Flashpoint event.

I've mixed feelings about this. It'll be cool to see the original lineup back and with Johns and Lee in control. This slight change in the universe after Flashpoint has me a little concerned, but at least it's not a full reboot that was scattered all over the internet.

On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print.

DC Comics will only publish two comic books on August 31st: the final issue of this summer’s comic book mini-series FLASHPOINT and the first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE by Johns and Lee, two of the most distinguished and popular contemporary comic book creators, who will be collaborating for the first time. Together they will offer a contemporary take on the origin of the comic book industry’s premier superhero team.

In the hours, days and weeks to come, we’ll have more news about the other titles. Tomorrow, we’ll hear from Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee about this moment

ous occasion. Keep checking THE SOURCE for updates about the other first issues.

Update #2!! This full image has been posted on the internet just within the last half hour. The top portion was used on a USAToday article. But now the full version has been released. Interesting it's the founding group except Cyborg has taken Martian Manhunter's place. Wonder what that means...

From the "I will believe it when I see it" department, word has been slowing hitting the internet today that Warner Brothers may be developing a Hawkman movie. The reason for my attitude is there has been no real source to back up this claim and...to be quite honest, this comes out of left field. But I decided to report it anyway seeing that it's starting to get out there.

Not that I don't want a Hawkman movie, that would be cool. The problem is his history is well...convoluted to say the least. I mean, his origin and past has changed so much and so often, they decided that he has been re-incarnated several times over and all pasts are legitimate. Which one would be used? Well, probably the version that will be in the new series written by James Robinson (no official word from DC regarding the series, but he "accidentally" blurted at the New York Con last year that it will happen).

Which version would I prefer to see? I don't know. Classic is always good, but I kinda liked the Hawkworld version as well. As to how this will affect the proposed JLA movie for 2013? Well, the cast of characters is to be the founding seven members, which he was not , so it shouldn't be an issue.